Best PlacesCrystal River, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Crystal River, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Crystal River ranks 35,822nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Crystal River
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Crystal River's strengths and weaknesses
Where Crystal River ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 96% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 143 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of towns
- BikingBetter than 90% of towns
- TransitBetter than 88% of towns
Where Crystal River ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of towns
- Household income$54,034 median, better than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Crystal River
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Crystal River home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $54,034, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Crystal River's effective rate of 0.71%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Crystal River
Crystal River runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Crystal River.
Who works in Crystal River, and how
Work in Crystal River centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Crystal River
Crystal River has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of towns and more parkland per resident than 91% of towns. The coast is about 25 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Crystal River and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Crystal River, month by month
Crystal River sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through May.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| April | 82° | 70° | 59° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 73° |
| October | 84° | 73° | 65° |
Flying in and out of Crystal River
The nearest airport, Gainesville Regional, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Tampa International, about 65 miles away.
The best schools in and around Crystal River
Schools across Crystal River average a B, better than 68% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Rock Crusher Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Homosassa Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Lecanto Primary SchoolB · 49% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lecanto Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Crystal River Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Lecanto High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Academy Of Environmental ScienceB+ · 53% proficient
- Crystal River High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Crystal River school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Crystal River measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Crystal River against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Crystal River
Is Crystal River a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Crystal River ranks 35,822nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and the weather, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Crystal River expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,580. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $54,034 median income, cost of living beats 20% of towns.
Is Crystal River safe?
Yes, Crystal River is safer than 66% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $182 per resident a year.
Compare Crystal River with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Crystal River. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Crystal River represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Crystal River detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Crystal River: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Crystal River: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Crystal River: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Crystal River: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Crystal River detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.